These Ties That Bind
by Whispering-Willow08
Summary: Peace has settled over the ninja world, and a new generation of shinobi has risen. As Sasuke struggles to conquer fatherhood, his sons test his limits daily, and his daughter pushes him over the edge on matters of power, family, and, heaven forbid, boys. [Discontinued]
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is a rewrite of a series I've been working on for quite some time originally titled "Their Fate". I've made a lot of changes to the story, and I intend on making things more cannon to the original Naruto story arc. I debated for a long time on whether or not to include Sarada, Boruto, and Himawari since they are the cannon children, but I decided to keep the characters I created for the purposes of this story. Also, I will be leaving the sequel to "Their Fate", "Harmony", up on my account for now. I will be putting forth a lot more effort into it this time around, and I'm very excited to be up and writing again. Please enjoy!**

 **-WW08**

These Ties That Bind

Naruto scanned the handwritten documents that had been handed off to him and looked up at the fiery-eyed teen standing on the opposite side of his desk. She was tall and slender with a tomboyish charm about her. Her jet black hair fell just below her shoulders, framing her porcelain skin with perfect contrast. Her choppy, side-swept bangs fell into her deep obsidian eyes, and her lips, always glowing red, held a smirk that matched her father's. She was Leiji Uchiha, the oldest of the four Uchiha children, and since her recent seventeenth birthday, a member of the esteemed ANBU Black Ops.

"So?" Leiji asked, crossing her arms impatiently. "How is it?"

Naruto, the proud seventh hokage, gave her a big goofy grin and laid the mission report out in front of him. "I'd say it's a pretty good report for a two-month mission, especially since you went solo. How was it being gone for so long?"

"Wonderful," she replied without thinking. "It's not like it was a hard mission, and I got to enjoy two months of peace of quiet."

Naruto snickered and set the papers aside to be filed, knocking over a few empty instant ramen containers in the process. "It does get pretty loud in your house, doesn't it? It makes me glad I only have one kid to deal with!"

Rolling her eyes, Leiji picked up her mission bag and slung it over her shoulder. Tamako was the only daughter of Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki, and she and Leiji were close friends despite their wildly different personalities. "Can I go home now?" she asked tiredly.

"Sure," Naruto said with a smile. "I'm giving you the next two weeks off. Take some time to relax, okay?"

"Two weeks?" Leiji raised a brow. "I don't even need two days to recover. All I did was gather information."

"But you spent two months doing it," Naruto countered. "We have labor laws for a reason. Spend some time with your family. See your friends. Tamako missed you, you know."

"I know, I know. I'll call her tomorrow," Leiji promised. "Right now I just want to sleep in my own bed."

"You know your mom is probably making you a huge welcome home dinner," Naruto reminded her. "Don't plan on sleeping just yet."

Leiji paused, her mouth nearly watering at the thought of her mother's home cooking. She couldn't wait to eat, but she knew the peace and quiet she had become accustomed to would be gone once she stepped foot inside the Uchiha home. Silence was a far off dream with her three younger brothers around.

The door behind her slid open, and Shikamaru stepped in carrying a sheaf of papers. "New mission requests," he announced lazily and laid them on Naruto's desk. "They're supposed to be sorted through by the end of the day." As Naruto's face fell, he glanced at Leiji and gave her a nod. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Leiji said simply. She gave Naruto a wave and stepped out of the office at the top of the hokage tower. Dusk was just beginning to settle over the village of Konoha as she stepped out onto the emptying streets. She was excited to return home; even despite the little nuisances she called her brothers. Her thoughts quickly returned to a home cooked meal. Naturally, her mother would be preparing one of her favorites. Okonomiyaki with extra sauce on top or fried tofu sprinkled with fresh-cut green onion. Her stomach growled eagerly at the thought.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice as she nearly collided with the person in front of her, and he took her by the shoulders to avoid a full-on collision.

"You know it's hard to believe they made you an ANBU over me, considering you can't even see what's right in front of you." Hachi Hyuuga gave her a wry smirk. He looked very much like his father, or so he had always been told. Neji Hyuuga had been killed during the Fourth Great Ninja War, before Hachi had been born. His mother, Tenten, was a kind but fierce weapons master who did her best to raise him alone, and even though she herself was not a Hyuuga by blood, the mother and son lived in the Hyuuga compound together so Hachi could be properly trained. However, he was a rebel in every way to the strict Hyuuga family. He was a joker who trained hard but never took it seriously. And he kept his hair short and shaggy, so unlike the traditional style for Hyuuga men. This angered the elders in his clan the most.

"Maybe it's because I deserved it," Leiji shot back at her former genin teammate.

"Or daddy pulled some strings with the hokage," he teased good-naturedly.

"Oh, shut up," she said. "You said you liked being a jounin."

"I do," he agreed, waving a hand nonchalantly. "How'd that mission go? It must feel good to be home."

"I wouldn't know, I haven't been home yet. Naruto took forever to go over my report as usual."

"I'll take that as a hint to leave you alone, then," Hachi said, giving his old friend a smirk.

"I'll tell you all about the mission tomorrow, if you want," Leiji said with a shrug. "But it wasn't very interesting."

"I'd like to hear what kind of prestigious and death-defying missions they send the ANBU on these days," Hachi said. "How about we meet at the dango shop about two tomorrow?"

"I hate dango," Leiji reminded him, wrinkling her nose.

"Fine, the coffee place by the tower then," he suggested.

"All right," Leiji agreed. She adjusted the strap of her bag on her aching shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

He gave her a wave as he continued his walk towards the tower, probably heading there to turn in his own mission report.

Hoping for no more interruptions, Leiji picked up her pace as she walked home, and when the two story beige-paneled home came into view she felt a pang of relief in her chest. She had recently begun considering the possibility of moving out on her own to escape the chaos, but every time she saw the house after a long while, she felt a sense of comfort.

When she opened the door, she was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug and a mass of pink hair blocked her vision. After squeezing her daughter tightly, Sakura pulled back and looked Leiji over, taking in her appearance. "Oh, I'm so glad you're home," she said, placing her hands on her daughter's cheeks as she examined her face. "Are you hungry? Dinner's almost ready."

"Yes, I'm starving," Leiji said as she dropped her backpack by the door and slid her shoes off.

"Good," Sakura said and shooed Leiji towards the living room. "I'll call you when it's ready. Go say hi to your father. He's in his office."

"All right," Leiji agreed. Sakura disappeared into the kitchen, and Leiji stepped into the living room, where two of her brothers sat watching television. "I'm home," she announced.

Kyo, the youngest at age seven, jumped off the couch and ran up to hug his big sister. He was shy and a bit of a cry baby at times, but he loved his sister dearly and often tagged along with her wherever she went, even when it annoyed her. "I missed you!" he declared, burying his face against her stomach. "Don't go away for so long again, okay?"

Leiji patted his back lightly and tried to pry loose his vice-like grip around her waist. "I'm ANBU now, Kyo. Sometimes I'm going to have to go away for a long time."

He raised his head to look up at her, his lower lip jutting out in a pout. He was the spitting image of Sasuke from his childhood photos and whether Kyo realized it or not, he used his cuteness to his advantage. "But I don't like it when you're gone."

"Sorry, kid. It can't be helped." She finally managed to loosen his hold on her and turned to Tai.

At eleven, he was the only one of the Uchiha children to have Sakura's gentle features, but his short, neat black hair and dark eyes all belonged to Sasuke. Tai suffered from a relatively severe case of asthma, and due to a weakened immune system, he was often sick. But, despite battling nearly constant illness, he had managed to graduate from the academy a year in advance and served as a genin. He waved at his sister, clutching his inhaler in his hand.

"Don't tell me you're sick again," Leiji said, taking in her brother's pallid face and fever brushed cheeks.

"I'm getting better," he replied simply.

"Hn," she hummed lightly and glanced up the stairs. "Where's Hideki?" The brooding thirteen-year-old usually did all he could to avoid spending time with his family, and he either had his headphones crammed so deeply in ears he couldn't hear what was happening around him, or he was strumming his acoustic guitar in his room. With his seemingly endless supply of band T-shirts, no one knew exactly where Hideki's interest in music had come from, but his shaggy black hair and deep eyes showed that he was truly a child of Sasuke's.

"Probably upstairs," Tai said and took a puff from his inhaler.

"Well, I'll see him later," Leiji said more to herself than to her brothers. She turned down the hall towards Sasuke's office. The door was open but she knocked on the doorframe anyway.

Sasuke glanced up from the piles of papers that Naruto had once again put off until the last minute and gave her a nod. "I thought you might be home by now. How did it go?"

"It was fine," Leiji said simply. "But it was really boring. Can't I be sent on something involving a little more danger next time?"

"No," Sasuke replied calmly. "You're still new to the ANBU. You're not going on anything too intense just yet. Especially not solo."

"Why not? I can handle it," she informed him defiantly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. His daughter's strong will often clashed with his own and arguments tended to escalate quickly without a mediator around. "I never said you couldn't. And besides, I'm not the one who decides those things."

"You could pull some strings. I know you have that power." Her tone was ebbing with a hint of sass. It was a tone that Sasuke had constantly had to warn her to watch when she was a child, and even as a teenager, that tone often found its way into her voice. He had given up on scolding her for being so frustratingly sassy long ago.

Sakura's voice floated down the hall declaring that dinner was ready, and Sasuke sighed in relief. There would be no arguing with his daughter tonight. He hoped. Setting the papers aside, Sasuke stood and motioned for Leiji to follow him. "I'm sure you're hungry. Let's go."

After catching up with the events in the Uchiha household and enjoying her first homemade dinner in months, Leiji sat in the hot bath that Sakura had drawn for her. She normally preferred to do things like that herself, but she was allowing herself to be pampered for the time being. She crossed her arms on the edge of the tub and rested in her chin on top, listening to the sounds of her family downstairs.

She could hear Kyo whining about not wanting to practice whatever he had learned at the academy that day. He hated the academy and often tried to fake being sick to get out of going. Tai was coughing in his room down the hall, and was complaining to Sakura about the taste of the medicine she was giving him.

She sighed in content and closed her eyes. She could almost say she was happy to be back amongst the chaos. Almost, but not quite.

A pounding on the door tore her from her tranquility and she scowled as Hideki called to her; "Would you hurry up? Other people need to bathe, you know!"

"Chill out, Hideki," she called back, but stepped out of the tub and dried herself quickly before throwing on a robe and opening the door. "It's all yours."

"It's about time, princess," he mocked and stepped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

With the gust of air from the door came a brief, earthy scent. Leiji paused and sniffed again, but there was no trace of the smell. Figuring she had imagined it, she retreated to her room and lay down, enjoying the comfort of her own bed and eager to get a good night's rest in it.

-0-

When morning came, Tamako bound into the Uchiha house without knocking just as Leiji was finishing a rare quiet breakfast with Sasuke. The boys had all left for either training or classes for the day, and Sakura, who worked diligently at the hospital, had been called in early to examine a critical patient.

The young Uzumaki, with her choppy blonde hair and sparkling lavender eyes, rushed up to her friend and threw her arms around her in a tight, welcoming hug, nearly knocking her over in the process. "Leiji! I missed you so much!" she cried happily. "Come on, get your shoes on, we're going out today!" She grabbed Leiji by the wrist and began pulling her away from the table excitedly.

"Could you wait for two seconds?" Leiji said as she struggled to guide her chopsticks towards her mouth. "I'm trying to eat here."

Sasuke shook his head slowly at the scene and ran a hand through his hair. "Sit down, Tamako."

The bouncing blonde gave him a huge Naruto-esque grin and plopped down at the table next to Leiji. "I bet you're happy Leiji's home too, Uncle Sasuke."

"Of course," Sasuke said as he stood with his dishes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do the work your father should be doing."

Tamako giggled as he left, knowing full well that Sasuke took on the brunt of the work her father was supposed to do. "So what should we do?" she asked, turning her attention to Leiji.

She shrugged as she finished her breakfast. "I don't care. I just have to be at the coffee shop by two."

"The coffee shop?" Tamako raised a brow. "Why?"

"I'm meeting Hachi there," Leiji explained as she gathered her dishes together. As she walked into the kitchen, she failed to see Tamako's jaw nearly drop to the floor.

"You're going on a date?"

Leiji stumbled in surprise and nearly dropped her dishes. "Wait, what?"

"You're going on a date with Hachi!" Tamako stood quickly and ran excitedly to Leiji's side. "How did that happen? You have to tell me everything!"

"There's nothing to tell," Leiji informed her as she set her dishes in the sink. "We're friends. We talk sometimes. It's not like this is anything new."

"But it could be," Tamako said in a sing-song voice. "I mean, come on. He totally likes you. It could be date. In fact, it should be a date!"

Leiji eyed her friend from the side. "You need to shut up."

"No, I need to prepare you!" Tamako declared and threw an arm around Leiji's shoulders. Against her will, she began dragging her friend towards the front door.

"Prepare me for what?" Leiji asked, twisting out of her grasp effortlessly.

"Your date," she replied as if it were obvious. "We're going to buy you a new outfit, and figure out a good makeup look for you."

"I don't wear makeup," Leiji protested. "And what's wrong with what I'm wearing now?"

Tamako looked Leiji up and down. Her fashion sense was seriously lacking. In fact, Leiji pretty much wore the same thing every day; black yoga pants and a t-shirt. "What isn't wrong with what you're wearing, Leiji?"

"Look, it's just coffee," she reiterated, and then added for emphasis, "with a friend. That's it."

"You are so naive." With that, Tamako slung her arm through Leiji's and began pulling her towards the door again. "No more arguing. We're going to get you ready for your date!"

"It's not a date," Leiji tried again, but she knew there was no point when Tamako was like this. Instead of protesting further, she just gave in and finally allowed herself to be dragged out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Just put it on, Leiji!" Tamako begged as she trailed behind her friend, holding out a tube of shiny red lip gloss. "It'll look good, I promise."

"I said no!" Leiji retorted as she stormed her way through the streets of Konoha, heading towards the coffee shop. "I already agreed to change my shirt and put shorts on, but this is too far. I'm not doing it."

"Oh, come on," Tamako begged. "A black t-shirt and a pair of shorts is hardly an outfit change! You need something to make yourself stand out for your date."

"It's not a date!" Leiji cried out in exasperation, and as she whirled around to face the blonde and really release her Uchiha fury, she found her lips being assaulted with the application brush and a layer of sticky gloss spread over her mouth. Curling her lip back in disgust, she took a step back and tried to wipe the substance off with the palm of her hand.

"There," Tamako declared proudly. "This stuff is designed to last twenty-four hours, so it's no use trying to take it off."

"This is cruel," she scowled.

"Trust me, I'm helping you," Tamako informed her. She took the hem of Leiji's shirt and tugged it down slightly, revealing a small amount of cleavage. "You really need to show off the goods more. I mean, they may be on the smaller side, but they look really nice."

Quickly pulling her shirt back into its proper place, Leiji gave her a deadly glare. "You are really testing my patience today."

"Oh, one more thing," Tamako continued as if she hadn't heard the Uchiha. She reached into purse and fished around for a moment before pulling out a small, square object and jamming it into Leiji's pocket. "You can't forget a condom for good luck!"

Rolling her eyes, Leiji removed the offending object from her pocket and dropped it back into Tamako's purse. "Would you give it up already? It's not like that. And even if it was, I have my own."

"You know, it's been so long they're all probably expired," Tamako teased, and when Leiji only crossed her arms and glared, she continued. "Besides, when was the last time you went on a date, let alone got laid?"

Leiji only scoffed at this. She had dated a few guys over the past three years and had only gotten intimate with a couple of them, unlike Tamako who, instead of dating, tended to sleep around with whoever she pleased. The relationships were all right, but she had never truly clicked with any of them. She also had a feeling that, deep down, a fear of her father had been the true end to all of her relationships.

Finally, she sighed and shook her head slowly. "I've been busy. Being ANBU is draining."

"Well now that you have some time off -."

"Enough," Leiji interrupted. "You're going to make me late. It's almost two."

"Fine," Tamako said with a grin. "Enjoy your date!" She bounced off before Leiji had another chance to protest.

Crossing her arms defiantly and rubbing her lips together in an attempt to get the sticky gloss off, Leiji walked to the coffee shop and leaned against the wall outside as she waited for Hachi. Tamako had good intentions. Leiji knew that. She also knew that she had a tendency to overwork herself and focus only on training when she wanted to build up a new technique. She was never one to focus much on dating. Even in her previous relationships, Leiji admitted she was a little checked out. She had liked the guys well enough, but she felt she had far more important things to think about.

When Hachi approached the shop, Leiji looked up and gave him a smirk. Tamako was good at reading too much into things. She and Hachi were once teammates, and they had always been friends. The two of them having coffee together was not an unusual event.

"Hey," he greeted. Glancing her over, he raised a brow and informed her, "You've got something on your face."

"It's Tamako's lip gloss," Leiji explained, fruitlessly attempting to wipe it off again. "She insisted. You know how she gets."

"She insisted on what? Making out with you?"

Narrowing her eyes, Leiji pulled back and slugged him in the arm. "You know what I meant."

"Sorry," he snickered and rubbed his arm lightly. "But you left me wide open there. I had to."

"You could be mature," Leiji said as she turned and walked into the shop. The smooth scent of freshly roasted coffee beans mixed with the aroma of homemade baked goods created a welcoming atmosphere and largely contributed to the popularity of the shop. It was often crowded with people, but during mid-afternoon, the shop was usually fairly empty, dotted with a few people here and there chatting the day away. With Hachi by her side, she walked up to the counter and examined the menu.

"I can be mature," Hachi informed her as he stepped up beside her. "And to prove it, I'm buying your coffee to celebrate your first mission as ANBU."

Leiji paused and reminded herself that this was not a date. "Fine. But I'm getting something expensive."

"Fine," Hachi agreed, unfazed. "It's not like us jounin are making genin wages. Throw a couple of scones in the order too, why don't you?"

"I hate sweets," Leiji reminded him and turned to the barista to place her order.

"I meant for me," Hachi countered before ordering his own drink. He made a show of ordering the most expensive scone on the menu and sat down in one of the overstuffed armchairs in a quiet corner of the café. He smirked as Leiji sat down across from him with her drink. "All right, I was promised a story about your mission."

"I already warned you, it's not very interesting." She took a small of sip of her coffee and found it still too hot to drink. "It was just to gather information on foreign relations. I spent some time in the Sand Village, Stone Village, Lightning Village…you get the picture. We talked about the recent amended peace treaties and advancements in shinobi technology, and then I brought all the information back to Naruto. That was it. For two months."

"You're right, that is boring," Hachi agreed. "Hope the next one has at least one run-in with an enemy."

"In these times of peace and alliances, it's unlikely," Leiji commented.

"Things can't remain peaceful forever," Hachi reminded her. "Not that I would want another war or anything, but ninja these days don't seem to be getting much real-world experience."

"It's true," Leiji agreed. "I've been hearing how lucky we are to grow up in times like these my whole life. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we don't have to go through what our parents did, but I haven't been doing all this training for nothing."

"Amen to that," Hachi said and tapped his coffee cup against hers in a cheers motion. "When's your next big important mission start?"

"Two weeks," Leiji sighed. "Naruto insisted I take a break."

"Two weeks?" Hachi cried in disbelief. "How come I never get time like that off?"

"Because you have genin to take care of," Leiji reminded him. "How are they, by the way?"

"They're fine. I mean, they're nothing like we were when we were genin, Yuki included," he said, referring to their third former teammate, "but they're passable. I won't be recommending them for the chuunin exams any time soon, though."

"Sounds like you're a pretty shitty sensei," Leiji said, casually sipping at her coffee.

"Ouch." Hachi clutched his chest as if he'd been struck. "That went deep."

"It's called constructive criticism."

"Actually, that's called being flat-out mean," Hachi corrected. "But that's okay, I can take it."

He leaned forward to set his empty cup on the small table between them, and Leiji caught herself admiring the way his shaggy brown hair fell into his lavender eyes. His arms were strong, and she could see his muscle tone even through his shirt sleeves. She always knew he was attractive, he had had his fair share of girlfriends in the past, but she realized she had never really taken the time to observe his handsome features herself.

As he sat back up, Leiji cursed herself for letting Tamako put ideas in her head. After all, this was positively not a date, and she and Hachi were just friends.

"What?" Hachi asked and Leiji realized she had been staring at him in silence for a little too long.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "I guess I'm still a little tired from the mission."

"That boring mission tired you out that much?" he asked with a smirk. "Maybe you're not ready for a tougher mission after all."

"Hey, I did a lot of travelling," Leiji said defensively. "My feet are tired."

"Aw, you poor thing," Hachi mocked. He patted his knee playfully. "Put them up here. I'll make them all better."

"That's gross. You're not touching my feet." She crossed her ankles together and leaned forward, moving her feet to rest beneath the chair.

"Fine, continue to be in pain then," Hachi said, unfazed. "But I'll have you know, I have magic fingers."

She faltered at the comment. Hachi was a joker, and he prided himself on making off-the-wall comments, and Leiji would normally just dismiss them as typical Hachi behavior. But, thanks to Tamako, she began to wonder if he was actually flirting with her. She also began to wonder how long he had been flirting, and how many times it had just gone right over her head. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot, and to make matters worse, she was struggling to respond with a snarky comeback, a skill she normally excelled at.

"Wow, you really are tired," Hachi finally said after giving her a few moments to respond. He stood and held a hand out to her. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

Rather than admit what she was really thinking, Leiji decided to play up the tired act and allowed him to help her up from the chair while faking a yawn. "I can walk myself home, you know."

"I never said you couldn't," Hachi pointed out, but he walked beside her regardless.

Looking down at her feet as they walked, Leiji made a mental note to absolutely destroy Tamako when she got home. Thanks to her, what would have been a normal, casual talk with a friend had turned into something that could have possibly, maybe, in a small way, been a date. Leiji also began to wonder just how many 'dates' she had been on with Hachi. She mentally kicked herself for even thinking such a thing.

"Are you okay?" Hachi asked slowly, ripping Leiji from her thoughts.

She looked up at him surprise. "Huh?"

"I said you better take it easy for the rest of the day," he repeated. "You really are out of it." He paused a block away from the Uchiha house and poked her lips lightly with his finger. "You should really take this stuff off. It looks ridiculous on you."

An unfamiliar fluttering took over Leiji's chest, and she briefly wondered if she might be dying. In an attempt to regain her composure, she batted his finger away gently and crossed her arms. "I'd love to, but Tamako said it'll last twenty-four hours."

"Huh. That's a shame."

Before Leiji had a chance to ask him just what he meant by that, he gave her a wave and one of his usual cocky smirks. "See you later," he said as he walked off.

With a huff, Leiji walked the rest of the way back to her house. It was still early, and she was hoping she might have the house to herself for a little while, but when she stepped inside there was a scuffling sound from the second floor and her hopes were shattered.

"I'm home," she sighed.

"No one cares," came Hideki's obnoxious voice followed by gales of laughter from his even more obnoxious friends.

"Great," Leiji muttered under her breath. She headed for the stairs and paused when that same earthy scent from the night before hit her again. She sniffed, unable to place the smell, and went up the stairs. She could hear Hideki and his friends talking from behind the closed door of his room. The smell had faded once again, but Leiji's curiosity was spiked. She opened the door without knocking and before Hideki could yell at her, asked, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Hideki said defensively. He sat on the floor with his guitar on his lap. Three of his friends sat around the room with him. Leiji recognized them but couldn't recall any of their names. She did, however, remember that she never really liked Hideki's taste in friends. They all looked shaggy and unkempt, which was the current trend in young teenage boys, and they all enjoyed making crude jokes, sometimes even at her expense.

"You know you're not supposed to have friends over when no one's home," Leiji reminded him.

"You're home," Hideki pointed out.

Leiji rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb towards the door. "Get out. All of you."

"What's up with your sister, dude?" one of his friends asked, and some inside joke sent the group into snickers.

"She's just being a bitch," Hideki stood and caught Leiji's eye, "as usual."

"That's right," Leiji agreed. "And the bitch wants to you all to leave. Go hang out at someone else's house for once."

"Fine," another friend piped up. "We can go to my place. My parents won't be home until later."

Leiji stood outside the doorway as the boys filed out of the room, and having caught scent of the strange smell again, she grabbed Hideki by the collar, holding him in place. "What's that smell?"

"What smell?" Hideki asked, trying to jerk out of her grip.

Leiji paused to sniff the air again, but it was gone. "Never mind," she said and released her grip on him. "Be home in time for dinner, okay? Mom gets mad when you come home late and whine about being hungry."

"Fine," he said grudgingly. "And will you stop embarrassing me in front of my friends?"

"No," Leiji said simply and retreated to her own room. She had a thing or two to yell at Tamako about.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

At night, when Sakura slept soundly beside him, Sasuke often had trouble falling asleep with her. Night brought back memories of his past actions, of things he had said and done, and of who he had hurt. When these sleepless nights took hold, Sasuke would lie awake and mull over this, and after a while, he found himself wondering if he deserved this wife, who loved him dearly and who was such a wonderful mother to their children. He wondered if he was making the right decisions as a father. He thought about all of the mistakes his own father had made and vowed to never repeat them, and yet he still could not help but he think he was making mistakes of his own. Fatherhood was still such a challenge to him, even after seventeen years, and he struggled to find ways to improve himself.

When these thoughts would take over, Sasuke would get up and quietly slip out of the bedroom. The second floor was a single hallway of closed doors, all dark save for the amber light of Kyo's nightlight shining through the crack beneath his door. It was late, and the house was still, but old habits didn't die so easily.

Silently, he pushed Kyo's bedroom door open and glanced inside. He smirked at the sight. Kyo lay sprawled out in his bed; the covers that Sakura had tucked so tightly around him had become disheveled as the sleeping Kyo kicked them down to his feet. His pillow had fallen to the floor, but the tattered stuffed bear he was so attached to was being hugged against his chest. Sasuke had considered taking the bear away on many occasions, as he felt Kyo had grown too old for it, but he could never quite bring himself to do it.

He stepped into the room and lifted Kyo up gently, then placed him back down in a more comfortable position. He didn't stir as Sasuke pulled the covers back up and draped them over his chest.

Sasuke stepped out of the room and opened Tai's door slowly. He was sleeping on his back, his hands folded over his chest. He had always slept that way, even as a baby. He was always still, but his chest often rattled with each intake of air, particularly if he was fighting off an illness. In order to avoid embarrassing him, Sasuke had hidden an old baby monitor underneath his bed, and when he was sick he would turn it on so he could monitor his breathing overnight. At eleven, he had been on too many asthma-induced trips to the hospital for Sasuke's liking, and he wanted to do something to prevent it.

He shut the door and turned to Hideki's room. He was growing more moody and bratty by the day, a phase Sasuke was unfamiliar with as Leiji had entered her teenage years rather gracefully. Something was going on with his oldest son, but he couldn't figure what, and he didn't know how to ask.

He pushed the door open and rolled his eyes. Hideki was nearly hanging off the side of the bed, on the verge of falling to the floor. This was nothing new. Hideki used to fall out of bed nearly every night, and several years ago, as a prevention tactic, Sasuke and Sakura had bought him a bigger bed. Hideki had been adamantly against guard-rails. The larger bed worked well enough, but every once in a while, they were still awoken by the loud thud Hideki made as he hit the ground.

He placed his hand on his son's shoulder and helped him roll back over towards the wall. Once he was situated, Sasuke stepped out and hesitated outside of Leiji's door. He felt a little strange checking on her now that she was edging on adulthood. She had never had a problem with breathing or falling out of bed. She always slept soundly, and when she was a child she rarely went into Sasuke and Sakura's room in the middle of the night, as Kyo and Tai did.

It almost felt like an invasion of privacy checking on her now. She had grown independent and strong, just as he had intended her to, but that also meant she was pulling away from her family. Recently, he found himself on edge waiting for the inevitable day when she announced she would be moving out.

He cracked the door open and peeked inside. She lay on her stomach, as she usually did, her head turned towards the side, sleeping soundly. She held her phone loosely in her left hand, and Sasuke took it carefully, placing it on her bedside table. She didn't stir, she only moved her hand to rest beneath her pillow.

Satisfied, Sasuke shut her door and glanced down the hallway one more time. All was quiet, and Sasuke thought that maybe now he could get some sleep.

-0-

Tamako had kept Leiji up half the night texting her and demanding details of what happened between her and Hachi. Even when Leiji repeatedly told her she had no more information to give, she continued to press for more. Because of this, it was no wonder that when Leiji was awoken by the usual morning sounds of the Uchiha house, she was already exhausted.

There would be no point in trying to go back to sleep, so she pulled herself out of bed, dressed quickly, and joined the rest of the family for breakfast.

Sakura, in a rush as usual as she laid out breakfast on the table, looked up eagerly as Leiji walked in. "Oh good, you're awake. Can you take Kyo to the academy today?"

"Why me?" Leiji asked as she sat down and looked at every other available person at the table.

Sasuke stood from the table and quickly gathered his empty plates. "Naruto screwed up on some pretty important documents. I've got to fix his mess, as usual." With that, he disappeared into the kitchen.

Tai sniffled as he worked on the last few bites of his breakfast. "I'm finally better, so I want to go to the training grounds early," he explained.

Leiji turned to Hideki, knowing full well he didn't have to be at training until later.

He gave her shrug. "I just don't want to."

"Please, Leiji," Sakura said as she began clearing her own dishes. "I was supposed to be at the hospital ten minutes ago."

Leiji poked at her breakfast with her chopsticks and sighed. She wasn't quite sure how she wanted to spend her time off, but she knew this wasn't it. But Kyo was looking at her with his big, shining eyes and pouting lips and Leiji didn't know a person alive who could resist that look. He truly had a power. "Fine."

"Thank you." She picked up her medical bag and placed her hand over Tai's forehead. "If you start feeling sick again, come home."

"I know," Tai grumbled, pushing her hand out of the way.

She turned her attention to Hideki, who was engrossed with his phone, and placed her hand over the screen to get his attention. "Behave yourself," she warned.

"Yeah, yeah," he said absently, jerking his phone away from her view.

She rolled her eyes and gently ruffled Kyo's hair. "Go get dressed. You have to be at school soon."

Kyo looked up at her and pouted cutely. "Do I have to go?"

"I don't have time to deal with this today, Kyo," Sakura said sternly. "Go to school." She gave Leiji a nod, thanked her once again, and rushed out the door.

"Well, you heard mom," Leiji said as she started eating. "Go get dressed."

"But Leiji," Kyo pouted, his eyes brimming with tears.

"I am not sticking around for this," Hideki muttered under his breath. He quickly left the room with Tai trailing close behind.

"Don't you start crying." Leiji pointed a finger at him and gave him the same stern look their father used in these situations. "You have to go, Kyo, and that's the end of it."

He held her gaze, unmoving as he blinked away the tears, but Leiji was holding her ground, and he finally let out a whine and slid out of his chair.

While he was changing, Leiji finished clearing the table and added the dishes to the growing pile in the sink. She turned on the water to let them soak, knowing it would be her coming back to finish them anyway.

She could hear Kyo opening and closing drawers upstairs, taking his sweet time with his simple task. Annoyed, Leiji went up to his room and stood in the doorway, arms crossed. "Come on, Kyo."

He pulled a shirt over his head and looked up at her, lower lip trembling. "I don't want to go."

"And why not?" she asked.

"Because I don't like it," he whined, stamping his foot for added effect. "It's too hard!"

"It's supposed to be hard," Leiji reminded him. "That's why you study and do the training with dad. Then it'll get easier." She took him by the wrist as she spoke, pulling him out of the room and grabbing his backpack with her free hand. "And besides, you've only been in the academy for a year. You've got a long way to go."

"Leiji, don't make me go," he whined. "I can stay with you all day!"

"No, you can't." Leiji stepped out of the house, letting go of him briefly to lock the door before taking his wrist again and continuing towards the academy.

"Why not?" he asked cutely.

"Because I have things to do that don't involve babysitting you," Leiji explained. Once they reached the academy, she let go of his arm and handed him his backpack. "Listen Kyo, it's not so bad. The academy starts to get fun after a while, I promise. But you have to actually go. You can't just skip all the time. You'll never graduate."

"Tai did," Kyo pointed out smugly.

"Tai was actually sick all the time, and he worked extra hard to make up for it," she reminded him. "Get in there, okay? If you want, I'll pick you after school."

"And buy me ice cream?" he asked hopefully.

She sighed. "I guess. But you have to go to school without whining for the rest of the week. Deal?"

Kyo brightened and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Deal!" He turned on his heel and disappeared into the building, eagerly greeting some of his friends on the way.

"Huh, that bribery thing works on anyone," Leiji mused.

With nothing better to do for the day, she decided to head to the weapons shop and see what kinds of new items Tenten had come up with for lefties. Being left-handed in the ninja world wasn't easy when it came to selecting weapons. Kunai and shuriken were easy to handle with either hand, but anything more advanced became awkward. Fortunately, Tenten took Leiji's left-handedness as a challenge and constantly strived to come up with new and advanced weapons for her, especially since her initiation into the ANBU.

The weapons shop was small, crowded with carefully crafted metal. But it was popular, and nearly everyone, the hokage included, got their ninja tools and weapons from Tenten.

When Leiji stepped into the shop, unusually empty for that time of day, she caught sight of familiar lilac hair ducking between the aisles and she followed it. "Hey, Satsuki," she greeted.

Satsuki Hatake, the one and only daughter of Kakashi Hatake, whirled around to face her friend and grinned. "Hey, you're back. It's about time." She was a year older than Leiji, just like Hachi was, and she had inherited her father's lazy personality. She was also a member of the ANBU Black ops alongside Leiji. The two had grown up together, and often hung out as a trio with Karin.

"It's nice to be back," Leiji agreed. "But Naruto insisted I take two weeks off. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself."

"I would love two weeks off," Satsuki said jealously.

"Trade you," Leiji muttered as she began examining a shelf of shuriken.

Satsuki reached over her shoulder and grabbed a few small ones. "Replenishing your stock? I think Tenten said she was working on a sword for you."

"That's what I was hoping for," Leiji said. "I'll have to ask her about it." She grabbed a shopping basket and placed a few shuriken of her own inside it. "I need more of these too. They always seem to go the fastest."

"Yeah, I always lose mine when I'm training," Satsuki agreed. "Got any plans today? I have the day off too."

"I promised Kyo I'd pick him up from the academy today, but that's it," Leiji said. "Tamako's on a mission for the day, but I'm sure she won't be too mad if we went shopping or something."

"That would be perfect. I've got a hot date for the fall festival next week and I need a new outfit." Satsuki smirked. "Are you going with anyone?"

"Just the terrors," Leiji said with a shrug. "But I'm fine with going shopping. Let me just see about that sword."

She walked up to the counter, where Tenten stood polishing a slim kunai. She greeted Leiji with a smile.

"Hey," Leiji said as she set her basket on the counter. "I heard you have a sword for me."

"I do," Tenten confirmed. "But it's not ready yet. I should have it finished by next week. Is that okay?"

"That's fine," Leiji said agreeably. "I'll just take the shuriken for now."

As Tenten carefully wrapped Leiji's selections, Hachi stepped out from the backroom carrying a box of scrap metal and set it down on the counter. "Well, you look much more rested," he said with a smirk.

"Yeah," Leiji lied; thanking the foundation she had applied that morning to hide the dark circles beneath her eyes. "Did you abandon your genin today?"

"I gave them the day off," Hachi said nonchalantly, "since I'm such a good sensei and all."

"Right," Leiji said, pretending not to notice Tenten snickering from the corner of her eye. "You keep telling yourself that. I'll be spending my day shopping like a normal girl."

"You? Shopping?" Hachi raised a brow in surprise. "What's the occasion?"

"Satsuki needs an outfit for the fall festival," Leiji explained.

"Ah, I almost forgot about that," Hachi said, taking Leiji's bag of supplies from his mother and passing them on to her. "Are you going?"

Leiji reached out and took the bag from him. "Yeah, with the family. As usual."

"You want to go with me?" Hachi asked, casually sorting through the box of scraps.

Taken aback, Leiji struggled to find her words. "Um, sure. I guess."

"Your excitement is overwhelming," he snickered. "You can say no. I won't be offended. We are just friends, right?"

Something told Leiji he was toying with her. She had gone through extensive psychological training in order to become ANBU, but she had never faced someone as frustrating as Hachi could be. "Yeah," she said slowly. "I'll go. I'll just plan on meeting you there, okay?"

"Works for me," Hachi agreed. "You better go. Satsuki's waiting."

"Right, I'll see you later," Leiji said, giving him a small wave before going to meet Satsuki by the front door.

"What was that about?" she asked curiously as they began walking towards the mall.

"Oh, nothing," Leiji said, but she suddenly remembered something. "You used to date Hachi, didn't you?"

"Well I wouldn't exactly call it dating," Satsuki said with a smirk. "But you could say that, yes." She raised a brow. "Why do you ask?"

Leiji looked back ahead, embarrassed just at the thought of it. "I think he just asked me on a date to the festival."

"You think?" She gave her friend a curious look and crossed her arms, waiting for clarity.

"He said something about just being friends too," Leiji added. "So it's not a date." She hesitated. "Right?"

"Oh, that's just Hachi's way," Satsuki explained, clapping a hand on her friends back. "Testing the waters to see what you think, you know?"

"But-."

"No buts," Satsuki interrupted. "The way I see it, you've got a date. Let's get to the mall; it looks like we need to get a cute date outfit for you too."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Pulling the dressing room curtain aside, Leiji poked her head out and scowled. "I hate it," she said to Satsuki, who was in the room next to her.

Satsuki stepped out and took in the silky red top she had chosen for Leiji. "What are you talking about? It looks great, and your date will love it." She smiled teasingly. "With a pair of skinny jeans and some boots, you'll look amazing."

"Okay, first of all, it's not a date," Leiji corrected. "No one said it was, and until it's explicitly stated, it's not a date."

"I said it was," Satsuki replied as if it were obvious. She held up her cell phone and quickly snapped a picture of Leiji. "I'm sending this to Tamako. She'll agree that you have to get it."

"This is stupid," Leiji argued weakly. "Why can't I just wear my normal clothes?"

"Because your normal clothes are plain and boring," Satsuki reminded her. She stepped back into her dressing room and pulled the curtain over the entrance. "You're buying it!"

Knowing she couldn't possibly win in a fight with Tamako and Satsuki against her together, Leiji quickly changed back into her t-shirt and met Satsuki at the register to pay. "You know, most would consider this to be peer pressure," she informed her as she pulled out her wallet.

"This isn't peer pressure," Satsuki countered. "This is making you look hot for your date."

They left the store together, chatting and feeling like normal teenager girls rather than highly skilled members of an elite ninja organization. It was rare for them to get together this way, as they were usually busy with training or missions. Mission requests tended to die down in the fall and winter and pick up with great speed in the spring and summer, so the girls were grateful for the approaching fall season. It meant they could relax and enjoy some much needed time off for once.

As they walked towards the mall exit, coffees in hand, a familiar face appeared in the crowd and Leiji stopped in front of her father with Satsuki by her side.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, knowing full well her father was not the type to wander the mall.

Sasuke held up a small bag from the pharmacy. "Tai needs an inhaler refill," he explained. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Satsuki looped her arm with Leiji's and grinned mischievously. "We were just picking Leiji out an outfit for her date next week."

"It's not a date!" Leiji said with frustration.

Sasuke eyed the two girls who had been friends since nearly infancy and rolled his eyes. "With whom?" he asked, trying to sound casual. He had not been a fan of Leiji's last boyfriend, her former teammate, Yuki. He had had an attitude that Sasuke did not like, and after the relationship had fallen apart nearly a year ago, she had steered clear of dating. He had hoped that phase would last a bit longer.

"Hachi," Leiji said, and then quickly added, "but it's really not a date. We're just going to walk around the festival. As friends."

"It's totally a date," Satsuki said, poking her arm playfully.

Sasuke remained quiet. Hachi would be preferred over Yuki, but he also had an attitude. He was a joker who was rarely took things seriously, and he knew Leiji wouldn't go for that type. He gave her a curt nod and side, "Whatever you say. Don't be home too late tonight."

"I won't," Leiji promised. "I told Kyo I'd pick him up from school." She paused. "And buy him ice cream."

"You have got to stop giving into him like that, Leiji," Sasuke lectured, crossing his arms sternly.

"I can't help it," she protested. "He's too cute, and he knows how to use it to get what he wants."

"That's because you always give him whatever he wants." He reached out his hand. "Give me your bag, I'll take it home."

She handed the shopping bag over. "Thanks dad." She gave him a wave and turned to Satsuki. "Let's go."

"Bye, Sasuke!" Satsuki called as she and Leiji walked out together. "Let's get some lunch. I'm starving."

After the girls had eaten, Tamako returned from her mission and joined them in walking around the village. When Satsuki filled her in on Leiji's possible date, she became giddy with excitement and began to hound Leiji with a barrage of questions, despite her insistence that it was not, in fact, a date.

"Enough already!" Leiji finally cried. "Would you quit it with the questions? You're driving me crazy."

"But this is so out of the blue," Tamako replied. "I mean, you've been friends and teammates with Hachi for a long time, but nothing like this has ever happened before! I never thought you'd have feelings for a guy like him."

"I don't," Leiji said, but a hesitation in her voice made both Tamako and Satsuki stare her down until she gave a defeated sigh. "Look, I'll admit back when were genin I may have had a tiny crush on Hachi. I mean really tiny. But that was a long time ago. It doesn't matter now."

Tamako exchanged a glance with Satsuki, muttering, "She's so dense."

Leiji opened her mouth to argue further but paused when the girls walked by an alleyway and the earthy scent she had been catching whiffs of at home caught her attention once more. She stopped in her tracks, holding a hand out to stop Satsuki and Tamako as well. "Do you smell that?"

Both girls paused and sniffed the air. "What is that?" Satsuki asked, wrinkling her nose. "It smells really weird."

"Yeah," Tamako agreed. "Kind of herby, I guess? And it's so strong."

"I've smelled it at my house lately," Leiji said and turned down the alley to follow the scent. "It's mostly been wherever Hideki's been." She paused, realization washing over her, and turned back to look at the girls. "You don't think…?"

"No way," Tamako said, shaking her head. "Konoha is super strict about drugs. There's no way anything like that could get in here."

"There's always a way," Satsuki reminded her. She turned to Leiji. "We better check it out."

Nodding in agreement, Leiji led the small group through the alley and stealthily peeked around the corner. Her heart sank when she took in the sight of Hideki standing amongst a circle of his loser friends all passing around a joint, and her fears were confirmed. The smoke trailed lazily to the sky as Hideki inhaled deeply and passed it on to another of his friends.

Leiji glanced behind her and motioned to Tamako. "Go report this to your dad," she instructed. Turning her attention to Satsuki she added, "You keep these dumbasses rounded up until he gets here."

"What are you going to do?" Tamako asked. She peeked around the corner to get a view for herself and frowned. "This really serious."

"Oh, I'm taking Hideki home," Leiji said matter-of-factly.

"Shouldn't he stay with the rest of these kids?" Tamako asked, unsure.

"Who do you think he's going to be more afraid of; my dad, or yours?" Leiji asked.

"She has a point," Satsuki said. She met Leiji's eye, suddenly feeling like an ANBU again. "Are you going in first?"

"Yes," Leiji confirmed, "but stay behind me. Don't let any of them scramble away."

"Right," Satsuki said with an affirmative nod.

"I'll go get daddy then," Tamako said, and with that she jumped up and took off, taking the fastest route possible.

Satsuki gave Leiji a nod and quickly disappeared; planning to pop up behind the ground so all immediate escape routes would be blocked. Once she was gone, Leiji strolled casually up to the group and, before he could turn around, grabbed Hideki by the shoulder and whirled him around to face him.

"So, what kind of flowers do you want at your funeral? Because mom and dad are going to murder you," Leiji said with a scowl.

Hideki paled and gulped, glancing behind him to his friends. Panic-stricken, they turned to run but were cut off by Satsuki, who crossed her arms with a smug smile.

"Oh, you guys aren't going anywhere," she said matter-of-factly. "The hokage's on his way right now."

Hideki scowled and turned back to face Leiji. "Why do you always have to ruin a good time?"

"Why do you always have to be such a dumbass?" Leiji countered. She tugged at his shirt, pulling him along as she started walking. "You're coming with me. Dad's going to be the one to deal with you."

"Leiji, don't," Hideki begged. "Come on, we can work out a deal or something. Be cool for once and don't rat me out!"

Rolling her eyes, Leiji pulled her idiotic little brother along farther. "Just how long have you doing drugs, Hideki?"

He scoffed. "I don't have to answer you."

"Fine," Leiji said with a shrug. "You can just answer mom and dad." With her free hand, she threw open the front door of the house and jerked Hideki inside, calling out loudly, "Dead man walking!"

Hideki stiffened as he heard footsteps from somewhere in the house and grumbled, "You're not funny."

"Oh, I think I'm hilarious," Leiji replied in a monotone. Sasuke and Sakura rounded the corner, Sasuke holding a sheaf of papers from Naruto's office, and Sakura looking disheveled after a long day at the hospital. Leiji felt a little bad that her parents' stressful day was about to get to much worse, but the satisfaction of seeing Hideki get grounded for life trumped anything else. She shoved her brother forward and announced, "Look who I found smoking pot behind an alley."

Both Sasuke and Sakura seemed to need a moment to let this information sink in but, much to Leiji's surprise, it was Sakura who was the first to react.

"Hideki," she said slowly, her brow furrowed with confusion, "were you really-?"

"No, she's lying!" Hideki cried quickly, hoping for a way out. Unfortunately for Hideki, both Sasuke and Sakura knew who the more trustworthy of the two were.

She took her son by the chin, examining his red-rimmed eyes closely and taking in the smoky, earthy scent stuck to his clothes. She frowned, disappointment heavy on her features. "I can't believe you, Hideki. You've done some crappy things before, but this is by far the worst."

Sasuke cast a side-glance at Leiji. "Go to your room," he said levelly.

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "There's no way I'm missing this."

"Damn it, Leiji, I said go to your room!"

She sighed and released her clutch on Hideki's shirt. There was the rage Leiji was expecting, she just didn't think it would be directed at her. She climbed the stairs and opened her bedroom door, then closed it again without going inside. She would have preferred a front-row seat to this showdown, but listening from the sidelines would have to do.

In the living room, Hideki knew he was deep trouble. He was used to getting yelled at and grounded for acting out, mouthing off, visiting some websites he shouldn't have been on, and the works, but this was on a whole new level.

"How long, Hideki?" Sasuke growled. He was gritting his teeth, struggling to keep his cool in this situation, and Sakura reached out and touched his arm.

Hideki knew one wrong word in this situation would make both of his parents lose it, and more than likely worsen the punishment he was already going to get. "I don't know, a few weeks, maybe," he admitted quietly.

"Why on earth would you go and do something like this?" Sakura asked, her voice thick with hurt. "We've talked about drugs. You know what they could do to you."

He shrugged, looking to the side to avoid meeting either of their eyes. "I just wanted to try it."

"Where are you getting it from?" Sasuke asked, already thinking of the piles of paperwork he and Naruto were going to have to do because of this. Drugs of any form were highly illegal in the Land of Fire, and he knew he was going to be the one tracking down and arresting the person responsible for bringing it into the borders.

"Just some friends," Hideki said simply, still avoiding their gaze.

"This is no time for games, Hideki," Sasuke said, his voice low and threatening. "I assume Naruto is dealing with the rest of your so-called friends?"

"Yeah," he admitted quietly.

Sakura turned and pointed a strict finger towards the staircase. "I want you to go to your room and bring me anything you may be hiding in there."

"I don't have anything up there!" Hideki replied sharply.

Sakura looked him up and down. "You better be telling me the truth, because if I find anything when I go look, you're going to be in even deeper trouble." With that, she quickly went up the stairs, just barely giving the eavesdropping Leiji enough time to duck into her own room.

Alone with his father, Hideki gulped and turned to face him. "All right, just tell me how stupid I was being and ground me like you always do."

"You're definitely grounded," Sasuke replied lowly, "but this goes far beyond stupidity. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to try it!" Hideki cried defensively. "I only did it a few times and now that you've got me, I'm not going to do it again!"

"Do you really expect me to believe that after all you've pulled in the past?" Sasuke countered. "You will spend two weeks in your room. No TV, no laptop, no phone. And you won't be going anywhere without supervision for a very long time."

"Two weeks?" Hideki cried in shock. "What about my birthday?"

Sasuke sighed. He had heard rumors that having a child born on Halloween meant a lifetime of troubles; he just didn't think it would turn out to be so true. "Do you really think you deserve a birthday after all of this?"

"Oh come on, it's my birthday!" Hideki protested.

"I've had enough from you, Hideki," Sasuke growled. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me? Do you know how much your stupid choices hurt your mother? I'm sick of you pulling stuff like this. Until you can learn to clean up your act, you're going to spending a whole lot of time with me, got it?"

"That's bullshit!" Hideki said and clamped his hands over his mouth after the words had come flying out.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his temper about to reach its boiling point. "Three weeks. Go to your room. Right now."

"But dad!"

"I am done arguing with you, Hideki!" Sasuke shouted loud enough to make Hideki cringe. "You bring all of your electronics to me and you stay in your room. I don't ever want you seeing those 'friends' of yours again."

Hideki opened his mouth to protest, but he had never seen his father get so angry. He usually pushed his parents' buttons without even meaning too, but he decided just staying quiet from then on would be the wisest thing to do. Sulking, he retreated up the stairs, passing Sakura as she came back down.

"There's nothing in his room," Sakura informed Sasuke.

He sighed and glanced up the stairs. "What the hell is that boy thinking?"

"I don't think he is," Sakura replied with a frown. "We've got a natural troublemaker on our hands. No matter what, trouble seems to follow him." She placed a hand on his arm. "I heard you all the way upstairs. I think the punishment is appropriate. We're both going to have to work to keep a closer eye on him. Apparently he needs it."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "When he's not at training, I can take him to the tower with me."

"Oh, he'll hate that," Sakura said with a light smirk, which was quickly replaced with a frown. "I'm so disappointed in him, Sasuke. I know he makes bad choices sometimes, but I never expected something like this. I'm really worried. What if things escalate?"

Sasuke shook his head, trying to be reassuring. "I think we put a stop to this early enough. He'll just have to be monitored for a while."

His words seemed to help, and Sakura nodded lightly. "One of us better go get Kyo from school."

"Leiji said she would do it," Sasuke said. "And he may not be too hungry for dinner, either. Apparently she promised him ice cream."

Sakura laughed lightly and motioned for Sasuke to follow her into the kitchen, wanting him to help with dinner. "I suppose we have a manipulator on our hands, too."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and followed after her. "One problem child at a time, Sakura."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Ouch," Leiji whined as Sakura pulled a hairbrush through tangled raven hair. They were seated on the couch in the living room, preparing for the fall festival. Leiji had grudgingly adorned the silky top Satsuki had pressured her to buy, and she was going to draw the line at having her hair styled, but her mother had insisted. "You're killing me, here."

"All I ever wanted was a daughter who I could dress up and do her hair. Instead, I got you," Sakura said good-naturedly as she continued working the brush through her daughter's hair. "I'm just trying to help you look nice for your…whatever you call it."

"I've officially decided on 'outing'," Leiji replied simply. She glanced at the stairs as Kyo and Tai came down, dressed in sweaters for the chilly weather. Hideki trailed closely behind them, a deep scowl on his face.

"How come I can't go?" Hideki asked. He plopped down hard next to Leiji, making her bounce up with the force.

"Because you're still grounded," Sakura reminded him. She took Leiji's hair and twisted it into a casual, messy bun before securing it in place with a long clip. Patting Leiji on the shoulder, she proudly declared, "You're ready."

Kyo went up to his sister and climbed sweetly onto her lap. "Do you really have to leave us all night?" he asked, his lips pulling into his signature pout.

"Yes," Leiji said, avoiding looking him directly in the face lest she fall prey to his scheme. "But you'll survive."

Sakura snickered and stood, gathering all of her hair supplies from the coffee table. "Go find daddy, Kyo. It's almost time to go."

The youngest Uchiha grinned at the new task and hopped down from Leiji's lap. "Okay!" He bounded up the stairs, happily calling for Sasuke.

"This is so stupid," Hideki muttered under his breath, but he sat up straight as the math in his head didn't quite add up. "Wait a second, if you and dad are both going, then I get to stay here by myself?"

"Oh, Hideki, of course not." Sakura couldn't help but smile at a perfectly-timed knock on the door. "I asked a couple of people to spend the evening with you."

Hideki paled, fearing the absolute worst. "Who?"

Sakura gave her son a smug look and opened the door, revealing Hideki's worst nightmare come true. "Hello mom, dad," she greeted cheerily as Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno stepped into the house.

"Hello, dear," Mebuki greeted. She glanced over the house and let out a small sniff of disapproval. "I see being a working mother not only causes you to neglect the housework, but causes you to leave your children alone to find trouble as well."

Sakura's smile faltered slightly at her mother's usual nagging, but she plastered it back on. "Thanks a lot for coming over."

"Well of course," Mebuki continued with her usual tone, "your father and I are thrilled to give up our evening to do your job and supervise your son."

"I'm right here, grandma," Hideki scoffed from the couch.

"Now Mebuki, we're going to have a nice evening with our grandson," Kizashi said reassuringly. He clapped Hideki gaily on the back and grinned. "We brought Yahtzee! We'll see if you can beat your old grandpa this time around!"

"I beat you last time," Hideki reminded him tonelessly. "And I'm too old for dumb games."

"Nonsense!" Kizashi declared merrily. "You're never too old for games with grandpa!" He grabbed Hideki by the arm and pulled him up from his seat. "Let's get all set up, shall we?"

As he was being dragged into the kitchen, Hideki turned and looked at Sakura with pleading eyes. "Save me," he mouthed, but Sakura shook her head.

Rolling her eyes, Leiji stood from the couch and went to get her shoes. "I'm out of here."

Kyo, who was tugging Sasuke down the stairs by the wrist, heard this and pouted. "Please come with us, Leiji?"

"No way," Leiji replied, tugging on a pair of black boots. "You play your festival games, I have better plans."

Knowing asking her to spend a little bit of time with the family would be losing battle, Sasuke simply glanced over Leiji's outfit and frowned slightly. "Take a jacket. It's cold."

It was dad-talk for 'no way are you going out in that top' and Leiji knew that. She thought she might get some grief from him over the scooped silky neckline that was so different from her usual attire, but she truly was her father's child, and her stubbornness outweighed the slight possibility of her being a little cold. "I'll be fine," she said simply and opened the door, turning her back to a pouting Kyo and indifferent Tai.

The sun hadn't quite dipped down below the horizon, but the festival was already in full swing. The streets were lined with food stalls, and the delicious smells of barbeque and candied apples wafted through the air. The streetlights were decorated with pumpkin lights, and children were squealing and running through the streets, clutching prizes from the game stalls.

Leiji was supposed to meet Hachi near the hokage's tower. She was a little early, but that was fine. She needed to get out of that house, especially with her grandparents there. Family matters tended to escalate when they were around, mostly due to her grandmother. Mebuki had never been fond of Sasuke, and she made her reasons for that even clearer with each visit. Between calling Sasuke a bad father and a village deserter, she also found the time to berate Sakura for continuing to work after having children, and when she got going, she didn't stop until Sasuke had to ask her politely, yet firmly, to leave. Afterwards, Sakura would either cry in her room or angrily begin to tidy up the house. Sasuke, feeling helpless, would follow her, always unsure of what to say to make things better. Naturally, Leiji loved her grandparents. They were the only ones she had. She just loved them better when they weren't visiting.

She could see Hachi approaching, and she stepped forward to meet up with him. "Hey," she greeted, matching her stride with his.

"Hey," he replied. "You're looking well-rested. Been enjoying your little vacation?"

"No," Leiji said truthfully. "I still have another week left and I'm going out of my mind."

"Are you joking?" Hachi raised a brow. "I would kill for a two week vacation. I could stay in bed all day, watch all those crappy daytime TV shows, and just do nothing. For two weeks."

"It's not as wonderful as it sounds," Leiji informed him. "I tried staying in bed all day, but I was bored to death after an hour, the internet only has so much to offer after a while, and don't even get me started on daytime TV."

"So what have you been doing to kill time?" he asked curiously.

Leiji shrugged. "Basic training alone, or with Tamako if she's available. Yesterday, I did everyone's laundry, and let me remind you that there are six people in my house. I've also been doing a lot of cleaning, and watching Hideki like a hawk when no one else is around."

Hachi sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Yeah, I heard about what happened. That was a pretty stupid move on his part. I heard Naruto is incredibly pissed about the whole situation."

'He's not nearly as pissed as my dad," Leiji said. "Hideki's a dumbass but I never thought he'd go and do something like that."

"But you're the perfect child, right?" Hachi asked playfully.

"Obviously," Leiji said as if that should be common knowledge.

He smirked. "You hungry?"

She nodded and they stopped in front of a yakitori booth. As Leiji dug through her pockets for her coin purse, Hachi quickly purchased two skewers of grilled chicken and handed one to her. She looked up in surprise and shook her head.

"I can get my own."

"Well, I'm only going to eat one," Hachi said. "So if you don't take this other one, it's going in the trash. Do you want me to just carelessly waste food like that?"

Leiji eyed him levelly before swiping the second skewer from his hand. He snickered, enjoying his little game, and began walking again.

"Where's your mom?" Leiji asked as they ate and walked. Hachi typically attended festivals and other events with his mother, worrying that she would be lonely without him.

"Believe it or not, she's got a date tonight, too," Hachi casually.

Leiji paused, thrown off a bit by the _too_ , but before she could press him about just what he meant by it, a presence was suddenly between them, its arms weighing heavily on both of their shoulders.

"What's going on, guys?" Yuki, the third member of their former genin squad, drew them in for a tight hug and grinned devilishly. His deep black hair, streaked with highlights of bright red, fell into his eyes as he began walking along with them.

"I thought you hated festivals," Leiji said, ignoring his question. Yuki was officially her ex, and he was the one who had broken off their relationship nearly six months prior. Since then they had barely spoken, and it was a bit surprising to her that he would just pop up out of nowhere like that.

"I've been scoping people out," he said, nudging her playfully. Any negative feelings they had had towards each other seemed to have completely disintegrated. "I'm having a party tonight. You guys want to come? It's going to be pretty wild."

Hachi glanced at Leiji from Yuki's side and shrugged. "You want to?"

Leiji eyed Yuki a bit cautiously, but his invitation seemed genuine, and she didn't even have to ask to know that Tamako and Satsuki would be there too. If things turned sour for any reason, she could always seek out one of them. "I guess," she agreed.

"Cool," Yuki said excitably. He released the both of them from his vice-like grip and stepped back. "Be at my place in an hour." He gave them a wave and ran off to search for more mutual friends to invite.

Hachi stepped closer to Leiji once he was out of sight. "Well, we've got an hour to kill. What do you want to do?"

"You pick something," Leiji replied indifferently. "The games are all for kids, the haunted house is always a shit show, and that doesn't leave much else to do besides eat."

"Then let's eat," Hachi said good-naturedly. "Knowing Yuki, there's going to be a good amount of alcohol involved at his party. It's better to not go on an empty stomach."

Leiji nodded in agreement and dropped her barren skewer stick in the trash. "What next then? Takoyaki? Tempura?"

"Let's see what we can find," Hachi said and led her down a street that was just beginning to glitter with lights as the sun finally set.

They chatted as they ate, alternating between walking the streets and sitting down on benches that happened to be free. Indulging in sinfully delicious festival food was a favorite past time of Leiji's, and she found that she and Hachi shared similar tastes in the subject. He asked her what she planned to do while she still had a week off and she said she didn't know. He invited her to come to his mother's shop and see how her favorite weapons were made, and she agreed to stop by, especially after he promised that she would get to try to make something herself.

Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed and they jumped up from the bench they had been occupying and hurried to Yuki's house. When they arrived, loud music was pumping through the open windows and strobe lights were dancing in the dark rooms. Yuki was never one to hold back when it came to parties. They entered the house together and, almost immediately, Yuki was there to greet them.

"It's about time!" he shouted above the music. "Drinks are in the kitchen. There's a little bit of everything, so help yourselves."

"Thanks," Hachi said, giving his old friend a grin. He fought his way through the crowded living room with Leiji close behind and stopped at the kitchen counter overflowing with bottles, cans, and juice cartons. He picked up a couple of red cups and handed one to Leiji. "Are you drinking?"

"Might as well," she said, taking the cup from him. "It's not like I have anything important to do tomorrow." She picked up a half-empty bottle of tequila and poured a generous amount into the cup before adding some orange juice to the mix.

Hachi watched her as he filled his own cup with a simple can of beer. "You just go right for the hard stuff, don't you?"

Leiji shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "What? I like tequila."

"I just never took you for a big drinker," Hachi said playfully.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Leiji replied.

"Well here's to changing that," Hachi said and tapped his cup against hers before she could react. "Are you also a big dancer?"

"Only when I'm drunk."

Smirking, he motioned to her cup. "Finish up and let's go then."

They followed the music to the living room and mingled with friends as they drank. Tamako was grinding against some guy Leiji didn't recognize, but as she spotted her best friend, she broke away and ran over. They chatted excitedly, and the more Leiji drank, the more she joined in and laughed with Tamako. Satsuki joined them while Hachi and Yuki joked about old times and hilariously failed missions.

The night began to swirl around Leiji after her second cup of tequila and orange juice, and she found herself holding another full cup, although she couldn't remember refilling it. She was dancing with Hachi, her back to him, grinding sloppily into his pelvis as his hands roamed over her stomach. They talked more, speech slurred, inhibitions lost, flirty side emerging from the both of them. Leiji began to relax more and more as the music pumped loudly around her. At one point, she turned around to face him, probably to give a snarky reply to some comment he had made, but his mouth was over hers before she could find words, and with the alcohol buzzing like electricity though her veins, she kissed him back hard.

She broke away as his hands began to dip beneath the hemline of her shirt to feel the smooth curve of her waist. The party was beginning to die down and the crowd was thinning, music quieting. She took a step back and pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. She gasped when she saw it was already past midnight. "Shit!"

"What?" Hachi asked. He craned his neck to look at her phone screen, which was filled with missed calls and messages from her parents, and paled. "Oh."

"I've got to go," she slurred, cramming her phone back into her pocket. She began making her way towards the door with Hachi trailing behind her.

"Wait, let me walk you home," he said earnestly. He caught Yuki's eye and gave him a wave as they stepped outside. "Come on, you're in no condition to be walking alone at night."

"I'll be fine," she said and shivered from the chilly night air. The wind had become biting with cold as the night dragged on and she crossed her arms tightly over her chest for warmth. "The cold will help."

"Leiji, come on, you're drunk," he tried again, matching her quick pace.

"So are you," she shot back. "And your mom's probably worried sick."

He frowned. She was right, after all. Tenten was either waiting at the door, tapping her foot angrily or asleep on the couch, tired from waiting so long. He saw her shiver again and shrugged off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders. "It's not that far out of my way."

"I'll be home in five minutes, you've got a longer way to go," she said, accepting the jacket. "Just go."

He frowned, wanting to argue but knowing it would be useless. "Fine," he said at last. "But just let me know when you get home, okay?"

"Fine," she sighed. They paused on the street corner, and she wondered if Hachi was going to kiss her again. If he did, they would be out there for a long time. She couldn't really remember much of the details of all the kissing they had done that night, but she did remember how good it felt. She wondered if it still would have happened had there been no alcohol involved that night.

He leaned in to her slightly, but pulled back quickly, knowing full well if he kissed her again he probably wouldn't stop. "Thanks," he said, trying not to hesitate further. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah," she agreed.

They parted ways and Leiji made it to her front door in record time. She only hoped her parents had been so exhausted by Kyo's inevitable whining at the festival and Hideki's complaining when they got home that they had fallen asleep already. However, her phone full of ' _Where are you?'_ and ' _Get home now'_ texts told her otherwise.

She unlocked the front door, her key missing the keyhole on the first couple of attempts, and stepped inside. She stepped inside and sucked in a breath at the sight of Sasuke sitting on the couch, arms crossed and alert.

He stood when she walked in and began working her shoes off. Furiously, he snarled, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Yuki had a party," she said, grateful that the wind and cold had sobered her up enough to at least stop slurring. Her balance, however, was a different story, and she took a cautious step towards the stairs. "Lost track of time, sorry."

He grabbed her by the forearm, stopping her in his tracks. "Do you know how many times I called you?"

"Six," Leiji replied, and his face darkened.

"And you couldn't be bothered to answer?"

"Sorry, my phone was on silent and-." She stopped. His face had clouded over with a new expression and a jolt of fear struck her like lightning. Perhaps she had been in the cold long enough to appear sober, but she had been dancing and sweating and spilling drops of her drink on her clothes.

His grip on her arm tightened and his voice came out as a low growl. "Have you been drinking?"

"Look, it wasn't much," she started but there was no escaping this, and anyone who got a good look at her could see that it was a flat out lie.

"What the hell were you thinking, Leiji?" he scolded, no longer bothering to keep his voice low for the sake of the sleeping house. "After all the trouble your brother got in - . "

"Hey, he was doing drugs," Leiji cut in defensively. "Alcohol isn't illegal."

"It is for you," he snarled and plucked Hachi's jacket off of her shoulders. "Whose is this?"

"Hachi's," she said and quickly tried to add, "I was just cold. He was being nice."

"I don't care." He flung the jacket into the corner and pointed her towards the stairs. "You're grounded. Give me your phone and get upstairs."

"You can't ground me!" Leiji cried.

"Like hell I can't. You still have a week of vacation and you're going to be spending it in your room, do you understand?"

"Yeah, I'm not that drunk," she muttered under her breath.

He narrowed his eyes. "I am in no mood for your attitude. Give me your phone. Now."

"Come on," she whined, "don't you think that's a little harsh? It's not like I haven't been drunk before!" She clamped her mouth shut, cursing her drunken loose lips, but the damage was already done.

Sasuke was nearly boiling now. Normally, he was cool, calm, and collected in any situation, but this was beginning to be too much. "And just how often do you go out and do this?"

"Oh my god, dad, I'm not an alcoholic," Leiji said, "just at parties." She could see that her words were only making him angrier, and she slid her phone out of her pocket and opened her messages to let Hachi know she was home – and that he probably wouldn't be hearing from her for a while.

But Sasuke swiped the phone from her hand before she could type anything. "Seriously? I just grounded you from your phone and you're using it right in front of me?"

"Hachi wanted to make sure I got home okay," she protested. "Just let me tell him that. You're being ridiculous!"

"I'll be sure to let him know on your behalf," Sasuke said with narrowed eyes. "Now get upstairs and sleep off whatever the hell it was you've been drinking."

"Tequila," Leiji said matter-of-factly. The look her father gave her told her he didn't actually want to know that and, defeated, she trudged up the stairs to her room.

When her door closed, a little too loudly for his liking, Sasuke went up to his own room where Sakura was sitting up in bed, scrolling through her phone. "You should be asleep," he said and got in next to her.

"Who can sleep with all the yelling going on?" Sakura replied simply.

He sighed. "She came home drunk, Sakura."

She frowned and shook her head slowly. "I guess she went to that party Yuki had. I heard Tamako mention it to Naruto."

"Hn," he scoffed. "I don't know why she would bother with him after everything."

"Broken hearts heal, but friendships tend to last," Sakura said wisely. "Everyone there was probably drinking; I imagine she was just joining in."

"Or drinking with that Hyuuga," Sasuke said. "She's certainly not going to be seeing him again."

Sakura's brow wrinkled. "Why not?"

"They go out once and she comes home drunk," he said as though the answer should be obvious. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen again." He pressed the home button on Leiji's phone and opened her messages, earning a curious look from Sakura.

"What are you doing? I thought we agreed not to go through our kids' phones."

"I'm not going through it," Sasuke informed her. "But she's grounded from it and the Hyuuga wants to know she made it home."

Sighing, Sakura set her own phone aside and rested her head on her pillow. "Don't be too cruel to the poor kid."

"No promises," he muttered under his breath as he typed out his message.


End file.
